India’s Socio-Economic Landscape

Post Independence changes in India

Ayush Patel

2023-09-22

Hello

I am Ayush.

I am a researcher working at the intersection of data, law, development and economics.

I teach Data Science using R at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

I am a RStudio (Posit) certified tidyverse Instructor.

I am a Researcher at Oxford Poverty and Human development Initiative (OPHI), at the University of Oxford.

Reach me

ayush.ap58@gmail.com

ayush.patel@gipe.ac.in

A liberal Constitution

India adopted liberal constitution that came into force on 26 January 1950.

- Universal Adult Franchise.

- Equality based on caste, creed and religion

- Freedom of speech and movement

- Directive Principles of State Policy

- Independent Judiciary

One could say a right recipe for a harmonious society and growth. We will discuss how Indians and Indian society have changed after independence.

How are we measuring change?

  • Education and Health, of various groups, are two broad parameters that signal about a society’s wellbeing. Additionally, are also signals for a productive and value generating labour force.
  • We will compare India, using various indicators1, with sub-continental neighbours.
  • We will also investigate, by discussing two papers from Development Data Lab, if change has been true for various groups in India.

Where does India live?

“India lives in her villages” - M.K. Gandhi

  • How much does this hold true today?
  • Is Urbanization desirable?
  • Has India Urbanized?

“What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism…” - B.R.Ambedkar

Where does India Live?

Is India an agrarian economy?

  • Yes, India was an agrarian economy. Agri,forestry and fishing(1960)-41.7%GDP, Manufacturing(1960)-15%GDP and, Services(1960) - 38.8%GDP.
  • Is India an agrarian economy? Difficult to say. Things have changed(Agri,forestry and fishing(2022)-16.6%GDP, Manufacturing(2022)-13%GDP and, Services(2022) - 48.6%GDP).
  • Certainly, not same as 1960s. Is the change universal? Today, how many people are engaged in agriculture?

Is India an agrarian economy?

Inefficiencies in Agriculture

  • Today for India, nearly 43% of the total employment is in Agriculture. Even though, value added by agriculture to GDP is ~16%.
  • China, that has a comparable population to India, requires a little more than 3 times the area of agriculture land to support itself. This is despite the fact that yield per hectare in China is higher compared to India1.
  • India has a lower share of irrigated land compared to Bangladesh and Pakistan.